Bisleri International (formerly Parle Exports and Parle Bisleri) is an Indian company which is best known for the eponymous brand of

bottled water Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., well water, distilled water, mineral water, or spring water) packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not. Sizes range from small single serving bottles to large car ...

. The company was started in the 1970s by Ramesh Chauhan, and sells bottled water and soft drinks. Bisleri conducts its major businesses in India, with 135 operational plants and a network of 3,000 distributors & 5,000 distribution trucks. Bisleri also distributes its products through its own e-commerce platform and other online retailers.

History

Background

Bisleri was originally an Italian alcohol remedy drink created by

Felice Bisleri Felice Bisleri (30 November 1851 – 17 September 1921) was an Italian businessman, inventor and chemist. He was born in Verolanuova near Brescia and established the Felice Bisleri & Co. chemical laboratory in Milan, developing the successful "Fe ...

. In 1965, Italian doctor Cesari Rossi and Indian businessman Khushroo Suntook introduced Bisleri bottled water in India by setting up a factory in

Thane Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven talukas ...

. It was initially sold only in luxury hotels and restaurants in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties –

bubbly "Bubbly" is the debut single of American singer Colbie Caillat from her first album, '' Coco'' (2007). Written by Caillat and Jason Reeves and produced by Mikal Blue, the song was released as the album's lead single on May 15, 2007. "Bubbly" i ...

and still. In 1969, the Jayantilal Chauhan family of Parle Group acquired the struggling Bisleri brand, which was looking to exit the Indian market, for 4 lakh (about 4892.22).

Early years

In the 1970s, Jayantilal Chauhan split his soft drinks business between his two sons; Prakash Chauhan obtained control of

Parle Agro Parle Agro Private Limited (stylised as Parlé Agro) is an Indian company that owns Frooti, Appy, LMN, Hippo and Bailley brands. History Parle Agro is an offshoot of Parle Products, which was founded in 1929 in British India. It was owned b ...

, while Ramesh Chauhan received Parle Exports (now Bisleri International). In 1976, Parle Exports launched

Maaza Maaza (pronounced "Mahza") is a Coca-Cola fruit drink brand from India and marketed in Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia. Its most popular drink is its mango fruit drink. History The Union Beverages Factory, based in the UAE, began selling it ...

, a fruit drink made of mango pulp. After the exit of

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...

from India in 1977, Parle Exports entered the carbonated drinks segment with the launch of cola drink

Thums Up Thums Up is an Indian multinational brand of cola in India. It was introduced in 1977 to offset the withdrawal of The Coca-Cola Company from India. The brand was later bought by Coca-Cola who re-launched it in order to fight against Pepsi to c ...

, lemon flavoured drink

Limca Limca is an Indian multinational brand of lemon- and lime-flavoured carbonated soft drink made primarily in India and certain parts of the U.S. It contains 60 calories per 150ml can. The formula does not include fruit, relying instead on arti ...

and orange flavoured drink

Gold Spot Gold Spot was one of the three brands of carbonated soft drink started in India by Parle Bisleri under the initiative of its founder Ramesh Chauhan in 1977 after the exit of Coca-Cola. PepsiCo had already left the Indian market in 1962 due to sl ...

. To complement its soft drinks portfolio, Parle Exports launched

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases. Tra ...

and

carbonated water Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...

in the retail market under the previously acquired Bisleri

brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

. According to Chauhan, the Italian name "added a dash of class to it." The water was initially sold in PVC bottles, before the company switched to

PET A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...

bottles in the mid-1980s.

Divestments

The

economic liberalisation in India The economic liberalisation in India refers to the opening of the country's economy to the world with the goal of making the economy more market and service-oriented, thus expanding the role of private and foreign investment. Indian economic ...

in 1991 saw the return of The Coca-Cola Company in the country. In 1993, Parle Exports sold its carbonated drinks brands

, Citra and

RimZim RimZim is a brand of masala (mixed spice) soda currently owned and marketed by Coca-Cola in India. The brand was originally part of Parle Bisleri since its launch in the 1980s and was sold to Coca-Cola along with Thums Up, Limca, Citra and Gold Spo ...

to The Coca-Cola Company for between 125 crore (about 40 million) and 200 crore (about 60 million). In addition, it sold

trademark in the Indian market to The Coca-Cola Company. The deal also included a 15-year

non-compete clause In contract law, a non-compete clause (often NCC), restrictive covenant, or covenant not to compete (CNC), is a clause under which one party (usually an employee) agrees not to enter into or start a similar profession or trade in competition agains ...

, which prevented Parle Exports from launching competing carbonated drinks until 2008. Bisleri PET water bottles with Telugu labels

In 1998, Ramesh Chauhan sold Delhi Bottling Company and Coolaid, the

bottling companies A bottling company is a commercial enterprise whose output is the bottling of beverages for distribution. Many bottling companies are franchisees of corporations such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo who distribute the beverage in a specific geographi ...

of the five carbonated drink brands, to The Coca-Cola Company. In 2000, Ramesh Chauhan announced that Bisleri, which was being operated by eight different companies from 16 manufacturing locations, would be consolidated under a single entity. As a result, Bisleri International was incorporated in 2001. In 2006, the company sold the trademark of

in European and US markets to Infra Beverages and House of Spice respectively for undisclosed amounts.

Present

In 2010, Bisleri launched a premium bottled water brand called Vedica, with water sourced from a

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

in the Himalayan foothills in

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

. In 2016, Bisleri re-entered carbonated drinks segment with the creation of Bisleri Pop under which it launched four varieties of soft drinks – Limonata, Fonzo, Spyci and Pina Colada. In 2021, Bisleri launched its line of hand sanitizer products.

Product and legacy

Bisleri has a 32% market share in the organized bottled water segment, in which it mainly competes with PepsiCo's

Aquafina Aquafina (pronunciation: ) is an American brand of purified bottled water that is produced by PepsiCo, consisting of both unflavored and flavored water. The Aquafina brand name is also licensed for use on multiple skin care products, includ ...

, The Coca-Cola Company's Kinley,

's Bailley and

IRCTC Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is an Indian public sector undertaking that provides ticketing, catering, and tourism services for the Indian Railways. It was initially wholly owned by the Government of India and operated ...

's Rail Neer. Bisleri is often used as a

generic term Trademark distinctiveness is an important concept in the law governing trademarks and service marks. A trademark may be eligible for registration, or registrable, if it performs the essential trademark function, and has distinctive character. Re ...

for bottled water in India. Many knockoff brands of similar spelling and branding have emerged over the years.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Bisleri's official site
Bottled water brands Water companies of India Food and drink companies established in 1965 Indian brands Companies based in Mumbai